Delegates, lobbyists, reporters, and party officials have amassed in Tampa for the start of the 2012 Republican National Convention (RNC), but they’re all going to have to wait just a bit for most of the action to begin. The Convention officially opens Monday at 2PM Eastern Time, but Tropical Storm Issac forced organizers to immediately adjourn that day’s session. The major speeches and other official programming will wait until tomorrow.

Update Aug 27, 2012 2:00 pm: Here’s the entirety of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it first day of the Republican National Convention:

But one of the central dramas of this convention was already apparent in two of last night’s kickoff parties. The official welcome event was a party for 20,000 or so assembled delegates, friends, and hangers-on at Tropicana Field in nearby St. Petersburg. Guests enjoyed a Cajun buffet and open bar as they walked around the expansive domed field where the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play their baseball games. Meanwhile, across town, Ron Paul supporters gathered at Whiskey Joe’s Bar and Grill for Ron Paul’s Liberty Rocks Beach Party.

We’ll hear from people who attended both parties about what they’re hoping to see happen at the RNC this week.